Russian troops retreat in and around Toretsk – Forbes

David Ax denies Donald Trump’s claim that Ukraine is “not in a very good position.”

Despite US President Donald Trump’s claims that Ukraine is “not in a very good position,” Ukrainian troops are counterattacking in several important areas of the front, writes military observer David Axe in Forbes .

A few months ago, the Russians did have the advantage, but that is no longer the case, Ax says. In and around Toretsk in eastern Ukraine, he says, the Ukrainians are counterattacking and pushing back into the city.

The analyst recalled that at the beginning of February the Russians announced the capture of the city, but, he writes, Russian control over it did not last long.

“Two weeks after the Russians had completely occupied the ruins of Toretsk, the Ukrainians counterattacked – and quickly advanced back into the city,” Aks said, adding that he learned about this by accident.

According to him, a Russian military blogger published a video allegedly about an unsuccessful counterattack by the Ukrainian Armed Forces on American armored vehicles on the outskirts of Toretsk. In fact, the observer writes, the video “shows Ukrainian troops in the center of Toretsk, and not just in the “border zone,” as the Russian claimed.”

Aks also cited data from Estonian analyst WarTranslated, who reported that fighting continues in the center of Toretsk, “the enemy is losing control” and “there are reports of the complete encirclement of Russian occupiers in several areas.”

The analyst recalled that Russian troops in Ukraine recently “changed their priority to the Toretsk axis after they were recaptured from the fortress city of Pokrovsk,” and that this, he says, is especially offensive to the occupiers.

“Even reinforced by troops transferred from the Pokrovskaya axis, the Russian regiments in and around Toretsk are retreating,” the observer writes.

(C)UNIAN 2025